Obama visits Macomb: a look at the press. Plus: Edwards Edorsement

Posted by Minni

I woke up at 6:15a.m. this morning because I had a press check-in at 9 a.m. in Macomb and I had to figure out how to get there, and also how to get a rose thorn out of my foot ... but I digress. The Obama event that was announced last night around 5:00. I've never been to one of these national press things and I learned a lot, if nothing else, about how the press works. I got a weird feeling early on, when I saw about ten TV trucks outside and press busses and all the rather gittery people they contained descending upon this little community college student center. It was very competitive.



I mean, just before Obama went on stage, the press pounced at the sight of a hijab on a muslim woman. Why? Were they thinking: "Here's our chance to know what the muslims think!?!" I have a feeling I'm on the right track. I felt like a vulture and made sure not to follow suit and attack the muslim couple and their kids with questions and shove cameras in their face. The whole press thing kinda creeped me out, it was like a bunch of hungry, informational hyenas circling for scraps of information thrown down by the lions (in this case, BO and his campaign).

In fairness, it was a very controlled environment. I could tell people that came, aside from the press ,were big Obama fans and that that may not have been such a coincidence. This way, the message that will be broadcasted will be "Macomb Loves Obama" and I'm sure they do. I'm sure they do, but, almost everyone?

Either way, my point was that the press pick apart an event like a carcass and descend upon certain people just to follow a set of silly requirements:"Talk to the muslim people, talk to the white people, we wanna know, we wanna know what they think!" For instance the people who got to ask Obama questions during the event got mauled by press seconds after Obama left the stage. And of course, they're all gonna say the same thing to each news person, so why would everyone want to get the same thing? One woman there, Susan Watson of Canton, said she refuses talk to the News Or the Freep. Good for her. She talked to me, though.

I found myself smiling a lot to compensate for feeling like a jerk when I asked people questions and if they were receptive I made it more conversational. I think I spent too long with certain people and didn't get as good a sampling of the crowd as I could have, but there is something lost and gained from that. I just know I didn't like the "annoying reporter" technique where they just pick at you until you say something--anything.

Early on, I met a girl named Christina, who worked for the Detroit News, and she was very nice, but seemed a little disgruntled about a lot of things--like how her job made her wake up early and get to the place before anything even stated happening, about how the News website sucks because she has to write three different versions of the story (on for web, and a couple for the paper). She also was saying how they told her to wear her running shoes because she might be chasing down people for comments. She was asking me questions, like "How many black people would you say are here" or "Who are those people sitting behind Obama?" I was happy to help, lol. They also had asked her to ID people she was interviewing and how reporters have to take pitures now and that's not what she went to school for...ikes. Also, how annoying they guy from the Freep was (competition). Somebody doesn't like their job much? Maybe it was a bad morning.



The other thing I noticed was that "The Press" means white people. Of the 50 press people there I think there was one asian, and thee blacks--one was me and the others were this guy from MTV with dreadlocks, and this other guy wearing a tigers cap who was behind one of the fox 2 cameras....And, oh yeah, Al Allen who was standing around looking a little dazed and confused, but does he count?

Good Old, old Al Allen, a looking a bit tired

One more thing: I overheard a guy from The New York Times interviewing Isaac Robinson the political director for the Mich. Teamsters Union. He was a really twitchy little guy who insisted on chewing gum a mile a minute and had some admirable skills in writing shorthand. But when he got the chance to speak with Robinson about the event what did he ask? "Why isn't Obama Wearing a flag pin? Does it bother you? Do you think it'll matter to people in the gen. election?" REALLY? Really, little twittery NYT guy? Aren't you, like, the standard other journalists wish they held themselves up to? UM, I'm a little confused.

Oh yeah, I ALMOST FORGOT. This press guy with scraggly brown hair to his shoulders got my attention and some other people's, too, when he literally was walking so fast he ran into a metal TV pole really hard and stumble backwards with his hand to his head. We were like "Are you all right?" And he wandered forward looking a bit bewildered. "Physically, I'm ok. Mentally, NO." was the answer he gave before being swallowed somewhere in the crowd of other mentally strained press. I got the feeling a lot of them were on speed and really really stressed out. I wanted to be like relax. Seriously. Stop being robots, we're all people.
One reporter who was there kept signing loudly during Obama's speech. He obviously didn't like the whole Obama thing, but he's neutral, right? UM YEAHRIGHT. So am I. But it's OK! How is anyone supposed to be neutral, we're people!

This other reporter for a Warren daily was there with his little personal camera and admitted he was gonna try and get some "personal shots to show m friends" Obama fan? I think.

And One thing I noticed is that the crowd in front of us press could clap and on the other side of the ropes, silence. At first my hands automatically started coming together but when I saw the stone faces of the press I caught myself. I did laugh at Obama's Viagra joke, though, I couldn't help it. Viagra's just always good for a funny, especially when you're talking about drug companies and health care ... it lightens the mood.



So anyway, no one was talking about Clinton today, that's for sure. I felt like she's almost a joke now. People there were democrats. They were working class people I'd say. All of them were either "on the fence" or for Obama. Even those "on the fence" said they felt like Obama was gonna be it seeing as Clinton is losing. I mean, John Edwards endorsed Obama this evening in Grand Rapids. So, anyway, things are looking very good for BO. Obama is very charismatic, funny, relational. Edwards, a running mate? Maybe.